Lament In A Deep Style 1929 – 1931 is a new release from Jack White’s Third Man Records which shines the light on Greek folk musician and clarinetist Kitsos Harisiadis. The release is a follow up to Why the Mountains Are Black, a two-disc collection of primal and unhinged Greek village music covering 1907-1960 that was released in 2016.
For this release, they again enlisted the help of 78 collector Christopher King who has dedicated years to research, fieldwork and collecting. King is a Grammy-winning producer, sound-engineer, curator and writer. The artwork is, like the last release, from the unmistakable hand of R. Crumband designed by Grammy-winning Susan Archie. Take a listen to the track Skaros below, transformative music.
From 1929 through 1931, Harisiadis recorded instrumentals that have endured in the Epirotic repertoire well into the twenty-first century. Kitsos plays all fourteen pieces as if he were a Greek-Shaolin monk conversing with a grasshopper at his feet.
Through King’s meticulously thorough research and immersive storytelling, the listener is able to fully absorb the otherworldly aura that radiates throughout the release.
Painstakingly remastered directly from ungodly rare original 78 rpm discs and coupled with artwork by R. Crumb and design by Grammy Award-winner Susan Archie, the entire package is delightful in every sense.